Strange Places, Normal Faces
by alexisR.W
Summary: Its been 6 years since johnny and baby's romance at kellermans. Both have moved on and made new lives but will the past bring them back together?
1. Changes were made

Hello! This is my first dirty dancing story! So stick with me! If I mess up on the story line please tell me! I hope you like it!

**AlexisR.W.**

**Story: Strange places, Normal faces**

**Chapter: Changes Were Made**

**Rating: K+ (possible M chapters later though)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dirty Dancing or any of the affiliated.**

**-Baby**

Baby pushed a cart filled with groceries around the supermarket while enduing that song. The one that reminded her of him. 'Now I've had the time of my life.' That extraordinary dance on the last day of summer. The dance that made her love him even more.

She had eggs, milk, and bread. All normal stuff, except for the blonde haired little boy sitting in the cart. It would be normal if she were married and had a house to call hers. But in this situation she didn't. All she had now was her baby boy. After that last dance, Baby and Johnny had to part ways. Baby with college coming soon and Johnny trying to find a new job, possibly with the Union.

"Mommy can we get apple juice too?" the little boy asked, pulling Baby from her thoughts.

"No Tristen. I told you. Our special coupons only let us pick one. OJ or Apple?" Baby asked.

"Orange juice." Tristen said defiantly. He definitely got his attitude from his father, she thought.

Baby pushed her cart with her groceries and Tristen in it to the self-checkout. She always felt embarrassed to let people see she used food stamps. If she had a better paying job she wouldn't have to use them. She was in her first semester at Mount Holy Oak when she found out she was pregnant. Her parents were disappointed and wouldn't pay for her college, so she had to get a job and a place of her own and hadn't talked to them since.

Baby selected the food stamps option on the checkout screen. She swiped her card and got her receipt. She had $78.62 left for that month. She wouldn't get more till September. She pushed the cart to the car and placed Tristen in his seat and loaded the groceries into the car. She turned the radio on and another song that reminded her of him was on. 'Dontcha feel like cryin?'

_Flashback_

_He had my hand in his. His other hand on my waist, slowly moving up towards my shirt. He grabbed it and pulled it up over my head. We danced around a bit more until I got his shirt off._

_When both of us were shirtless he moved me to the bed. He laid me down softly and started to take my pants off. I started doing the same to him. When we both were unclothed and exposed he attempted…_

_End of flashback_

Baby knew she shouldn't think about that. It would only make the pain worse. She mentally scolded herself before punching the code for the gate to her apartment complex in. It opened and she drove in and to her building.

When she and Tristen were inside she unloaded the groceries started a load of clothes while Tristen watched some TV. After dinner she tried to put to bed a very excited 6 year old. Tomorrow was Tristen's first day of 1st grade.

When he was finally asleep she allowed herself to lie down and let her mind wander. She didn't do this often for it usually led to tears, but tonight she couldn't fight it. She let herself think of him. As soon as he entered her mind the tears were flowing.

**-Johnny**

"Daddy!" a blonde little fairy yelled from her playroom. "Daddy come play with me!"

Johnny walked into the bright pink playroom and picked up the little girl. "Lilly its time for bed." He said.

"Daddy no! I don't wanna go to sleep!" she pleaded with puppy dog eyes. Johnny would do anything for her. He would have let her stay up all night if she kept giving him that look, but he knew that she needed sleep for her big day tomorrow.

"Lilly you have to go to school tomorrow." Johnny told her.

"Daddy, I'm scared. Kindergarten will be scary." She said sheeply while picking at the skirt of her fairy costume.

"Hunny there's nothing to worry about. What are you scared of?" He asked the frightened little girl. He couldn't stand to see her in any state but happy.

"The big kids. They will pick on me. I saw them do it on the TV." She said.

"Hunny what have you been watchin'?" he laughed and tickled her. "It's all gonna be okay kiddo." With that he took her to her room, put her pajama's on and put her to bed. Only after 3 stories and a glass of milk did she finally fall asleep.

Johnny picked up what he could of her messy playroom, there were costumes, barbies and baby dolls everywhere. Then he went to tackle dishes. After the dishes were clean he vacuumed the living room and his room.

Now that things were tidy he could sleep well. He set his alarm for 6:30 and drifted to sleep, exhausted from a long day of single parenting.

**A/n Hey! Okay I know this is supposed to be set like 6 years from their encounter at Kellerman's so that would make it about 1969 and that they probably didn't have self checkout or food stamps or possibly TV, but for my story's sake they will have whatever I need for the story. Anyway, thanks for reading & PLEASE REVIEW! :) xoxo AlexisR.W**


	2. Big Bully

Hello. I only had like 3 readers. :( , But oh well I hope I get more as I go! :) Here it goes! Please review!! Tell me what you think! If you don't I wont keep going!

**AlexisR.W.**

**Story: Strange places, Normal faces**

**Chapter: Big Bully **

**Rating: k+ **

**Disclaimer: I do not own dirty dancing. I do have the movie on DVD though :) **

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"Beep Beep Beep" Johnny's alarm sounded. _6:30 already? _Johnny though.

Johnny got out of bed and walked into his bathroom. He looked at his reflection in the mirror. His tousled hair and old white shirt made a different, but sexy look. One he knew his ex-lover would enjoy. _If only she were here _he thought to himself.

He opened the glass door to the big stone shower. He turned the water on full blast. Once the whole bathroom was steamy he got in. He stood there and let the steaming water pound on his muscular body.

Johnny got out and got dressed in his work clothes. His work clothes consisted of dark jeans a dressy shirt and black shoes. Johnny spent most of his day in his office sorting bills or ordering costumes. He left the instructing to his employees. Even if he were to come out of his office all the single mothers of the dancers would gawk at how gorgeous they thought he was. Johnny couldn't think of any other woman in that way but _her._

He sprayed his cologne on and went to wake up Lilly. He walked into the purple room and saw his little princess sleeping soundly cuddled with her blanket. _The only thing she will ever have of her mother. _

He took the outfit she had picked out of her closet. He delicately pulled the tags off. He watched her sleep for a minute. Trying to figure out what traits she had gotten. She had the blondest hair it looked white and the cutest button nose. She had faint little freckles on her nose and the most definite lips. She was beautiful. _Dang, the guys I'm gonna have to beat up. _He chuckled at his thought.

Johnny tickled her foot and she giggled in her sleep. "Lilly its time to get up." He said to her.

Her eyelids fluttered opened and smiled when she saw her daddy sitting at the end of her bed. "Daddy five more minutes." She closed her eyes and laughed.

"Its your first day of kindergarten and you wanna go back to sleep?" he laughed at her and stood up.

"I guess not." Lilly sat up and stretched. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. "Daddy where's my dress?"

"Right here. Come on and get some breakfast before you get dressed. You don't wanna get it dirty."

"Okay daddy." She jumped up out of bed. "Can I have waffles with extra syrup? Oh! And cinnamon?" She ran into the spacious kitchen and opened the fridge.

……………………………………………………………………………………………

"Good morning students and welcome to another great year at yellow wood elementary."

The principal announced over the fuzzy loudspeaker. She said the pledge of allegiance and the announcements and turned off the speaker.

Tristen sat in his seat quietly waiting for them to start centers like they did every morning of kindergarten. He was surprised by what happened next. His class lined up in the hallway and marched outside to the playground. He couldn't fathom why his friends weren't in his class and why they were going outside in the morning.

The little kindergartners were outside. Tristen didn't see any of his friends so he sat on the picnic table next to the swings. He sat there and watched all the other little kids play. Some were on the jungle gym. But most were fighting over the swings. He saw a little girl get pushed off her swing and fall into the mud below. She stood up and looked at her dress and started crying.

Tristen walked over to the little kindergarten girl.

"Are you okay?" Tristen asked the crying girl.

"No. I got my new dress muddy and my daddy is gonna be mad. I have to wear a dirty dress all day." She replied through her sniffles.

"It will be okay. Your mommy can wash it and make it clean."

"No. My mommy can't wash it." She said with a sad face.

"Why not?" Tristen asked. His mommy could wash_ anything_.

"My mommy is in heaven." She said and tears started flowing again.

"Oh I'm sorry." Tristen said and hugged her. "Well if your mommy can't wash it my mommy will."

"Thanks but my daddy will wash it." She smiled at the sweet boy. "What's your name?"

"Tristen Houseman. What's yours?" Tristen asked the little blonde girl.

"Lilly Paige Castle" Lilly said with dignity.

"That's a pretty name." Tristen said. "Your class is going inside."

"Thanks. I'll see you tomorrow Tristen." Lilly ran inside and Tristen sat back on the picnic table and waited till his recess was over. He could have sworn he'd heard that name before. He just didn't know where and why.

**Reviews please!! :) they make me want to write more! :) anyway I hope you liked it!**

**AlexisR.W.**


	3. Who's your momma?

A/n okay so I had one reader! Whoo! (Well other than my friends who I force to read.) And to my 1 reader (Kate) I'd like to let you know that Lilly has a playroom and her playroom is purple. Lilly's actual room is pink. Oh and I'm trying to make it surprising who the children's parents are!

**Anyways please review if you read! Thnx!**

**Story: Strange Places, Normal faces**

**Chapter: Who's your momma?**

**Rating: T (cause K is weird.)**

Disclaimer: I do not own dirty dancing or any of the other titles possibly mentioned.

Johnny-

Johnny pulled into Shelly's drive and stopped the car. He walked up to the doorbell and waited. Shelly was a platinum blonde 25 year-old who lived in a house by herself. Johnny had found her through an ad in the paper. She watched Lilly after school.

Shelly had just finished cutting an apple for Lilly when her doorbell rang.

"Oh, Lilly that must be your daddy!" She called.

"Otay shlelly, I'm commin!" the little voiced called from the kitchen.

Shelly opened the door and let Mr. Castle in.

"Hello Shelly. How was she today?" Johnny asked.

"She was perfect, just like always." Shelly said and smiled towards the kitchen. "But today when I picked her up she had mud all over her dress. I gave her an old t-shirt to wear instead. Her dress is in the dryer."

"Oh, thank you."

"No problem." She said. Shelly led him to the kitchen where Lilly sat eating her apple. When she saw her father she jumped down from the counter and ran into his arms.

"Hey sweetie! Did you have a good day?" Johnny said kissing the top of his daughter's head.

"Daddy I got all muddy. A boy pushed me out of my swing. But my new friend tristen helped me up!"

"Awe I'm sorry baby. Ms. Shelly said she washed it. Who is tristen?"

"Tristen is a first grader. His whole name is Tristen Ho-" Beeeepppp the machine sounded.

"Oh that must be her dress!" Shelly said.

"Shlelly can I put it back on?" Lilly asked.

"Sure sweetie. Let me go grab it so you and your dad can be going. I'm sure you wanna go see your mommy "

"Oh we don't have anywhere to be, and she can't go see her mom." Johnny said slightly mumbling the last part.

Shelly gave him a look then went into the laundry room. She came back out holding the dress.

"Okay Lilly lets put this on. Are you finished with your apple?" shelly asked the 5 year old.

"Yes ma'am." Lilly said. Johnny smiled; proud he had raised this polite little girl.

Shelly put Lilly's dress on her. Lilly ran into the playroom as soon as she was done. Shelly put Lilly's apple plate and cup into the dishwasher and washed her hands.

"Would you like some coffee?" Shelly asked Johnny.

"Thanks. I'd love some." Johnny smiled. He sat down at the counter and watched her. "Listen about Lilly's mother"-

"No its okay. I shouldn't have said anything. I didn't know." Shelly said.

"Well I want you to know what happened. Her mother died right after Lilly was born, and I'm not her actual father." Johnny said.

Shelly turned the pot on and turned around. "Your not? Then how did you end up with her?"

"I was her mothers closest friend since we were little. I was the only one at the hospital when she was born and when P-She died. The doctors asked if I knew who the father was and I told them no. They asked if I knew any of her other family members and I knew them but they had kicked her out at 16 so they wouldn't have taken the little girl in. I told them that I would take the baby. That's is what P- Uhh, She would have wanted. I took her to the courts the next day and legally adopted her."

"Oh Johnny, that's the sweetest thing I've ever heard." Shelly said. She noticed the tear that was almost about to fall in his eye.

Baby-

Baby pulled into the school parking lot and ran inside. Scared they would charge her extra for being late to pick tristen up from asp. (After school program) She got in and signed him out.

"That's six dollars ma'am." The attendant said. Good, baby thought. They didn't charge me extra. Baby pulled out her last few bills and handed them to her. She called tristen on the walkie talky to go.

Tristen came running up the hall to his mother. Glad to be out of that boring place.

"Hi mommy!" Tristen said hugging his mom.

"Hello baby. Lets get home we still have to eat dinner." She grabbed his bag and they walked to the car.

Baby buckled him in and got in the drivers seat.

"Mommy I helped a little kindergarten girl today." Tristen said.

"Did you? How so?" she looked at him in her rear view mirror. The next thing she saw were headlights coming very fast towards her car.

BOOM- (to be continued!)

**A/n okay so cliffhanger right?**

**Ha!**

**So tell me. Do you want Johnny and Baby to be together or Shelly and Johnny? I have ideas for both but I want to know what you think :) please review! **

alexisR.W.


	4. Its's SO not a date!

A/n- Heyy! Okay I'm sorry I left you with a cliffhanger. But I had to, and I would have updated sooner but I've been VERY busy.

**So now that I'm not AS busy anymore- here goes!**

**Story: Strange places, Normal faces**

**Chapter: It's SO not a date!**

**Rating: T **

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Baby-

"Crash!" baby's car slammed, jerked, twirled and landed upside down in the ditch. Baby tried to turn around to see her little boy but was blocked by a very big and heavy looking object. Only then did she realize that blood was dripping from her head. She attempted to grab her head to see where it was coming from when she faded into the blackness of unconsciousness.

……………………………………………………

Johnny-

"Why don't you come to dinner with me and Lilly tonight?" Johnny asked, "We were gonna go to that new pizza place on center street."

"I'd love to but the house is a mess and I—"

"Your house is not a mess it's very tidy," Johnny interrupted, "and we could consider is a date—I mean, if you wanted."

"Okay you got me. And this would most defiantly, not be a date." She replied with a cocky smile. She walked into her bedroom and Johnny walked into the living room to get Lilly and her things.

Shelly came back out with a sweatshirt and tennis shoes on and her hair in a pony tale, But Johnny thought she was the prettiest woman alive at that moment. Well maybe not. There was only one person who could be prettier than her. Johnny didn't want to think about that so he grabbed the keys and led Lilly and Shelly out to his car.

They were driving down the winding road singing to a very loud song on the radio when they saw the flames. One car was off to the right with its front end squished up towards the windshield and the other was upside down in the ditch to the left. The car on the right was in flames.

Johnny stopped the car far behind the wrecked cars and both Johnny and shelly jumped out and headed towards the car that was on fire. Johnny pulled the drivers door open only after smashing the window in and unlocking it. He tried to pull the passenger out but he we strapped in. Johnny couldn't reach the buckle so he pulled his pocketknife out of his pocket and cut it. He pulled the unconscious body out of the car and hoped he wasn't dead. Johnny laid the body on the ground and Shelly immediately went over to check on him.

Johnny went back to the inflamed car and looked to see if anyone was still inside. No one was on the passenger side so he looked in the back. Smoke was already filling the car so it was hard to see. He didn't see anyone but went around to the other side to be sure.

No one.

Johnny ran back over to shelly. "Call 911!" he said with short breath. Then continued running over to the car in the ditch.

Johnny got to the car and saw that it was very messed up. The car was upside down and pretty much crushed. He tried to pull the drivers side door open with no luck. The door had been crushed in. There was no way he would be able to open it. He tried the back door and it moved a little but not much. He pulled again with all his strength and got the door open. He looked inside. There were glass shards all over the floor or well, ceiling of the car. But what scared him the most was the little boy looking back at him.

The boy wasn't crying, wasn't hurt (except for the few cuts he had from the glass) and was looking at Johnny like a deer in headlights. The little boys face was red, probably from the fact he was strapped into his carseat, but upside down.

"Are you okay?" Johnny asked the scared boy.

He just nodded his head. "These straps are starting to hurt." He finally said.

Johnny held the boy up and unbuckled him making sure he didn't fall out of his carseat. He pulled him out of the car and started walking him to the car. "Is your momma still in the car?" he asked the still-in-shock little boy.

"Oh! He gasped, "My momma!" he wailed, "You have to save her! She was driving. It's my fault, I was telling her about meeting my friend and then we crashed!"

"Its okay." Johnny said, "I'm about to go save her." _I hope_ he silently thought,"Sit here with my daughter while I go save her." Johnny put the boy in his car and ran off to save the trapped woman.

The driver's side door wouldn't budge. He tried to climb in through the back door but there was a big piece of metal sticking up from the ceiling that wouldn't allow him to reach the front. He climbed into the back again and began pulling the metal thing out of the way. It wasn't moving much, but it was enough to give him hope that the woman, the mother, on the other side would be rescued.

He pulled and pulled but it was going nowhere fast and he had cut his hand on the metal a couple of times now and was starting to bleed. He tried one last time and it jerked down. He could see through the metal that the woman was bleeding profusely and was knocked unconscious .He reached his hand in and unbuckled her.

His bloody hands were getting her already blood stained shirt ever dirtier. He grabbed her fragile body and pulled it through the opening in the metal. Her hair was everywhere and the blood coming from her head made it stick to her face so that it was impossible to see it. He carried her to the roadside where a cop car had just pulled up and went to comfort the little boy and his own daughter.


	5. Save my momma!

A/n okay so here's the deal. I write, YOU review. No reviews = no story. Period. Not to be mean but it seems like you don't like my story when you don't review. They are what keep me going! So if you love my story even the SLIGHTEST bit, Please find it in your heart to leave a nice review. Sincerely, alexisR.W.

Story: Strange places, Normal faces.

Chapter: Save my momma!

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I do not own Dirty Dancing.

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Baby-

Her mind was floating. Drifting in and out. She thought she heard some one say "get her over here!" but that can't be true. It must be her self-wishing. She knew she was still trapped in her little car. Unable to speak, hear, or see her precious little boy. So she let her mind wander again. This time it found something more soothing. Just a lull. A noise in her mind. A slight wailing, or a siren, maybe. She drifted back into a state of nothing.

………………………………………………………………………

Johnny-

He hustled back over his car where shelly was talking to one of the police officers. He passed by them and opened the back door. He saw his daughter and this little boy talking a laughing even in this type of situation.

"Hey son. You okay?" he asked the little boy.

"Yes sir. Is my momma okay? Is she alive?"

"I think so, but I'm not a doctor so I couldn't tell you." Johnny looked down. "What's your name?" he asked looking back up at the boy with the familiar face. He could have sworn he had seen him before, or someone that looked like him. He just couldn't pinpoint it.

"Tristen. Tristen Houseman." Lilly answered before him.

Johnny gasped and silently thought _no, it can't be. Well it could be. What if the woman that I just carried was her? What if- _but he was cut off.

"Yes sir that my name. Lilly and me are friends. We go to school together."

"You do? Hmm that's nice. Are you in kindergarten too?" He asked wondering Tristen's age.

"No, he is a 1st grader daddy! He helped me when I got pushed off the swing and got all muddy! He is really nice." Lilly said.

"Well that was kind of you tristen. How old are you?" Johnny asked just to make sure his thoughts were clear.

"I'm six, and a half." He said with pride.

"Hey. The officer wants your statement. Ill watch the kids." Shelly said.

"Okay." Johnny got out and went over to the officer. "What can I do ya for?" he asked.

"We need everything you've seen and done since your arrival." The officer asked. Johnny took note of his badge, which read 'Scott' in big bold lettering. Johnny told him the whole story, everything. He left out his suspicion of the woman. Officer Scott took note of everything on a little note pad.

"Well it looks like you were a big help here today Mr. Castle. I'm afraid the drivers were injured very badly. The woman might have died in that car if you hadn't pulled her out. The top of her car was crushing her. So I want to congratulate you." Officer Scott said.

"Thanks. It was no problem. What hospital are they going to?" Johnny asked.

"I'm afraid I can't give out that information. Why would you need it though?" he asked Johnny.

"Because I have the woman's son. He is Friends with my daughter and I figured he would feel safer with someone he knew. I would be more than happy to take him to the hospital." Johnny explained.

"Oh that's quite alright. And that's strictly against policy. I have to take him. Unless you have proof that you are related to the child I must take him." Officer Scott said.

Johnny walked him over to his car. Officer Scott grabbed Tristen out of the car. Tristen started to wail. "No! I want to stay with Lilly and Mr. Castle! NO! Let me go!" Tristen was kicking and sobbing. Officer Scott wouldn't give in.

"Please let him stay with us. Ill take him straight to the hospital to see his mother. I promise." Johnny pleaded.

"I already told you! That's against policy! Unless you have proof your related-"

"We are. He's my son." Shelly and the officer gasped. "Look at him don't you see the resemblance?"

The officer looked at the boy and back to Johnny. He saw the resemblance and put tristen down. Tristen ran over to Johnny. He was still crying. Officer Scott went to his car and yelled from the window, "South Side Hospital." And drove away.

A/n Please review! Ill love you FOREVER~ AlexisR.W.

Ps- Peyton Beaty was the first to read all of chapter five and she loved it! –Peyton Beaty. (she told me to type that!)


	6. Waking up

Yes, I understand it's been quite a while. And I'm sorry. But, I'm back writing some more, so be happy! I read through the previous chapters and they were SO short! Hahaha. Like, not even 1,000 words each. Anyway, I'm gonna write some, and I hope I haven't lost my stuff. :) Okay, so before it was in 3rd person, I'm changing it to first. It's hard writing in third person.

**Story: Strange places, Normal faces**

**Chapter: Waking up**

**Rating: T**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Dirty Dancing or any of the affiliated.**

_**Baby-**_

My mind was reeling. I thought I had just seen his face and felt his muscles holding me, but it must have been my imagination. Only in a fairy tale would my prince charming save me. My mind went blank again.

The next time I woke up I was lying in a hospital bed attached to all sorts of machines. The constant beeping was what woke me. The first thing that came to mind was Tristen. Where was he? Was he alright? I sat up and looked around the room. I finally found the remote that would call the nurse's station. I pressed the button and waited.

"Oh good you're up." The nurse that walked in said. She walked to my bedside and grabbed my chart.

"Where is my son?" I asked groggily.

"You're son? What do you mean?" The nurse asked back.

"My son Tristen. He was in the car with me when I crashed. Is he hurt? Who is watching him?" I asked frantically.

"Honey, you and the other driver were the only people brought in. Do you want me to call the officer who was on the scene?" The nurse asked.

"Yes! I need to know where my baby is!" I said. I was getting worried. What would they have done with him?

The nurse walked out of the room to go call the officer. I sat in silence and wondered what all had happened. I remembered Tristen telling me something, something about his new friend. Then I looked in the rear-view mirror and that's it. I faintly remembered sirens and being carried to an ambulance. But after that, my memory jumps to the hospital.

I didn't even know what injuries I'd gotten. I knew my head hurt and my shoulder. I tried to get out of the bed, but I was attached by IVs and heart rate monitors. I decided that it would be best to wait for the nurse to come back.

After a few minutes, the nurse finally peeked in the door.

"Oh good, you're still awake. I called the officer." She said meekly.

"What did he say?" I asked. I was so worried. How could this happen?

"He said that he left him with his father." She said.

"His father? What? Tristen himself doesn't even know his father!" I said. "Did he leave a name?" I asked.

"That's all the officer said. He said they looked a lot alike and the man said he was his father, so he left him there with him."

"He could be a child molester!" I exclaimed.

At that moment another nurse came in.

"You have a few visitors." The second nurse said.

"Visitors? What the—"

In the door walked Tristen, a smaller little girl, a woman about twenty-two and the most handsome man in the world.

"Mommy!" Tristen called. I wanted to acknowledge him, but I couldn't stop staring at Johnny. It had been six years and he hadn't changed a bit. He was still handsome as ever and even a bit buffer.

Tristen came over to hug me so I moved my gaze. I grabbed my baby in my arms relived he was okay. So the man wasn't lying. He really was his father. I still held Tristen in a hug and I felt a tear fall from my face. I realized if Johnny knew that he had a son, how he must hate me for not telling him.

I let go of Tristen and wiped the tears from my eyes.

"Thank you for taking care of him and bringing him to me. That was incredibly nice."

By now the nurses were gone.

Johnny looked into my eyes and I swore I felt the connection between us, it was like we understood each other completely. But none of that mattered now. He must hate me for not telling him. He was also married now with a child of his own.

"It was no problem at all." He said while never taking his eyes off me.

"You're really pretty." The little girl said.

"Haha. Thank you. What's your name?" I asked.

"Lilly. I'm five. Me and Tristen go to the same school." She said cheerfully.

"That's cool. You're adorable." I said and smiled. I looked back to Johnny and his wife.

"She is so cute and polite. You two must be proud." I said a forced a smile.

The woman just looked confused and Johnny laughed. There must have been something I was missing.

"Do you mind if me and Johnny talk alone?" I asked.

"Sure." The woman said. She got Tristen and Lilly and took them out with her.

"Look, I'm really sorry. I'm not sure why I never told you. I was afraid I guess. After what penny did, I didn't think you were opposed to that, and I wanted to keep it. I was afraid you would make me…" I trailed off. I couldn't bring myself to look him in the eyes.

"What? No. I wouldn't have been super excited I guess, but I wouldn't have wanted that. I would have stuck with you. We could have been together. We could have raised him together."

That made me teary eyed again. "Really? You would have stuck with me? After I left Kellerman's that summer to go to Mt. Holy Oak, I thought what we had was over."

"I told you I loved you didn't I?" He said and I looked up at him. He was smiling. I wanted to smile back, but I couldn't do it. Instead I started crying.

"What are you crying for?" He got close to me and I looked down again.

"It doesn't matter anymore. You are married and you have a beautiful daughter. You don't love me anymore."

"What? You think Shelly is my wife?" he then started laughing uncontrollably.

"You mean she isn't? Then is Lilly her daughter?" I asked majorly confused. I didn't think it was funny at all.

"No. Shelly and I are friends. She watches Lilly after school. Lilly is my daughter." He said.

"Oh." That was all I could manage. I didn't know what else to say. I was relieved that he wasn't married to that Shelly girl but I was still confused about how he got Lilly. I didn't get a chance to ask him about her because just then, Shelly, Tristen and Lilly walked in.

"They were getting restless and very hungry." Shelly said. I looked at the clock on the wall. It read 8:17.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Thank you again. Tristen, come here. We'll get you something from the vending machine." I told Tristen.

"No, that won't be necessary. We'll take Tristen to dinner and bring you back something. Do you want pizza?" Johnny asked.

"Oh, thank you. Yes. It doesn't matter what kind. Tristen, be on your best behavior. Okay?" I told him.

"Yes mommy. I will be." He said and walked out with Johnny.

I laid there and tried to process what had just happened. Johnny still loved me and he had a daughter. I started to think of other things to get my mind off of Johnny. I began to think money. How was I going to pay for the hospital bill? I started crying from all of it.

The nurse came in to check on me.

"How are you doing?" She looked over at me and her expression changed. "Oh, honey. Why on earth are you crying?" she asked genuinely concerned.

"I can't pay for this. I don't even have insurance." I told her while still crying.

"What do you mean? You have already been paid for." She said. She kept looking at the papers very confused.

"By who? I didn't." I asked. I definitely didn't have the money to pay it, and I wasn't in touch with any relatives to help me.

"Hold on. Let me go check the records." She said and disappeared.

She walked out and to the nurse's station. Who would have paid my bill? I can't imagine it was cheap. The nurse walked back in and had a few pieces of paper in her hands.

"The records show it was paid by someone named Johnny Castle." She told me while still looking down at the papers.

"Johnny…" I mumbled. How could he have done that? He's too good to be true.

"Hmm?" the nurse said.

"Nothing. Thank you." I replied. With that and a quick check of my stats she left and I fell into a calm sleep waiting for them to return.

…

When they returned I was still fast asleep. Tristen was the one who woke me.

"Mommy, we're back." He said very in my face. I opened my eyes and was looking into the prettiest eyes ever, except his fathers. Johnny's eyes I could fall into and never come out.

"Hey honey." I said groggily. I sat up to greet everyone. I looked around and I only saw Johnny and Tristen. Johnny was holding Lilly who was fast asleep.

"Hey. Thanks for taking him again." I looked into his eyes. They looked so calm and concerned. But he couldn't care that much for me could he? I had his child and never told him about him for 6 years. I looked away before I got lost. "Listen, Johnny…" I started to say.

"No, don't say anything. You're welcome, for everything." He said and smiled a bit at me. I realized he was talking not just about dinner, but the hospital bill too. His generosity was killing me. I wanted to be with him again. To know just how much he cared, but that would never happen. We had been over for 6 years. I started to cry.

Johnny's face changed from sweet to, confused and worried. He looked at Tristen who was looking at me very worried.

"Tristen, here. Go get me a coke will you?" Johnny asked and handed him a dollar. Tristen grabbed the dollar and ran out.

"Why don't you believe me?" Johnny said. "I still care for you. I've never stopped." He looked directly into my eyes.

"But you can't. I was terrible to you. I kept your own son a secret from you. Then you come and save my life, and I can't do anything to repay you. I don't even have money to feed my own son. You knew that and you paid my bill. I want this to be true. I want to be with you, but we just can't." I said. By then I was crying even harder. I was sure I looked a hot mess.

That took him a minute to process. He looked down at his feet and thought some more. He shifted Lilly to his right side and walked over to me. "I guess if that's how it has to be, then I can't do anything more." He said and kissed my forehead. He looked into my eyes and said "But I do forgive you." and then turned away and walked out.

I sat there motionless. Had I really just made the love of my life walk away? That's the way it has to be I kept telling myself. I wasn't thinking about anything but the words that had just been said until Tristen came back through the door.

"Here Joh—" He started. "Where did he go?" he asked me.

"He had to get home. He said you could have it though." I told him. I wiped my face finally and got all the tears off.

"Mommy, why are you still crying? My daddy loves you and so do I." He said and came over and kissed my hand. Something about the way he could tell that Johnny loved me trigged something inside me. I simply smiled and grabbed him and put him in the hospital bed with me. After he told me all about the dinner with Johnny and about how Shelly and Lilly fell asleep in the car, he fell asleep. I ate the pizza Johnny had brought and climbed back into the bed. I cuddled with my baby till I was sound asleep. I wouldn't trade him for the world.


End file.
